STRUGGLES
by LADARTHA
Summary: Abused by her husband, but, afraid to leave since Frank can have her parents killed if she did. Bella has had enough one night when Frank starts to go too far. Killing him with his own gun, arrested for murder and then suffering a breakdown Bella gives up on life. Charlie asks his friend's son, Edward, an attorney to help. They both struggle for a happy tomorrow for each.
1. Chapter 1

**STRUGGLES**

**Disclaimer: The Cullens, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

**The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them. She also makes the banners for each of my stories.**

CHAPTER 1: WHAT NOW?

"Frank, do you have any objections about me going to the beach today with Rosalie, Emmett and Angela?" Bella quietly asked of her husband as he was finishing up his breakfast before heading in to work.

"What about your work here and what needs to be done at Isabella's?" He asked of her as he looked over the top of the newspaper.

"It's Jasper's day to make sure everything is being prepped and I'll finish up after I get there. And, as far as what I need to do here, most all of that has already been done yesterday and before you got up this morning. There is just a little left to do and then everything will be clean." She answered his questions.

"I see. So, when was this invitation issued and why am I just now hearing about it?"

"Angie and Rosie called yesterday to ask if I was interested. But, I told them that I needed to get some cleaning done around the house and needed to check with you before giving an answer. They asked what needed to be done and then came over to help get most of it done and I got up earlier this morning to get started on what little was left to be done.

"What little bit is left will be finished in less than an hour."

"I see." He repeated his two words from earlier. "So, instead of you taking care of your own wifely duties you allowed others into our home to handle things they had no business being allowed to touch."

"No, they only helped with moving the furniture and things of that nature for me to be able to clean underneath; then they put the piece back for me to continue on with the next area.

"No one handled anything of a personal nature that belonged to either of us." Bella was quick to try to reassure her husband to keep him from getting so worked up over her having her friends into their home.

"Very well. You can go, but, make sure you dress appropriately. I didn't marry a slut and I don't wish for anyone to get the idea that is what you are." And with that said Frank sat back, shook his paper to make sure it was straightened out before quietly folding it and placing it on the table. He rose, moved towards Bella who steeled herself not to show any sign of avoiding his touch while he placed a peck on her cheek before walking out the door to leave for his office in downtown Seattle.

Bella's mind quickly started to go down memory lane, but, it was too painful, so, she jerked herself back to the present. She had things to finish up before getting ready to get out with her friends away from the constant tension she lived under and to relax enough to hopefully be her old self for a couple of hours.

Bella was a totally different person when she was away from her home and husband. Although, her friends and her cousin, Jasper, knew there were problems between the couple, Bella made sure to never let them know to what extent the problems, or, the abuse really existed, especially, her dad. She knew that if anyone of her friends, cousin or dad happened to find out what her married life really was at home, then all hell would be upon her worse than what it was now.

Right now everyone accepted her excuses as they know how clumsy she was and they've seen the bruising she gets from tripping over her own feet and falling down. Sometimes when she has tripped she has even slammed into a door as she was growing up, so, any bruising seen now she is able to pass off as her clumsy state. However, comments have been made about how nervous she seems to be around strangers or her husband at times. How quiet she becomes and how quickly she jumped whenever he was near her or touched her. They've seen her tense up. But, Bella never gives away anything and refuses to talk about it. Even, her dad has noticed all of this and had his suspicions, but, until Bella was ready to confirm or request help he wasn't able to interfere to do something.

Quickly cleaning the kitchen from everything used to make breakfast, Bella went upstairs to her room to get ready for the arrival of her friend as she calls Rose to let her know that all was okay for them to head to the beach for a couple of hours. But, as Rose arrived to pick her up she shook her head at the shirt and jeans that Bella had on. "Oh, no, that, my friend, won't do for a bit of relaxation at the beach. Here put this on. I had an idea of how you would be dressing and got this for you." With that said she handed Bella the package and as Bella looked inside she turned a pretty shade of pink. She had never worn something this skimpy, but, as she took it out to take a closer look Bella realized that it was quite a bit more conservative than what it first appeared to be.

She quickly changed since she didn't see the problem she had originally thought existed with the outfit. It was a halter top that gently enclosed her breasts and ended just above the abdomen and the shorts just barely failed to be in the area called short shorts, but, Bella felt comfortable and pretty in the outfit. Turning towards her friend she quickly gave Rosalie a hug and then they headed out towards the car to begin their time at the beach since the sun was, which was a rare thing at this time of the year, out and shining. The day was warm without being hot and that made the type of outfits the two women were wear a must at the beach.

They met Emmett and Angela at the beach and then settled down for a bit of fun and sun worshiping. The time was pleasant and Bella felt such a sense of release and relief for a while that she was unaware of being watched. Her sister in law, Norma, was also at the beach with a group of her friends. While there she was busy taking pictures of everyone, including Bella which she sent off to her brother with the message of having seen Bella, but, not spoken to her.

It seemed as if time flew and Bella felt like she had only arrived at the beach then it was time to leave. She had brought her work clothes with her so she could change once she got to the restaurant, _ISABELLA that_ her cousin, Jasper, and she owned together. Bella was the chef and in charge of all of the staff along with everything having to do with the menu while Jasper dealt with the business end of things. They both were working in areas that they loved so it made for a very pleasant work atmosphere for everyone there. Of course, Bella's cooking, Jasper's business acumen and the outstanding staff all working together had managed to make_ ISABELLA_ a very popular place to eat and its location was downtown in a high end district.

As always everyone was busy with barely a moment to pause to breathe, but, it wasn't anything new. That was a normal work day for the restaurant which had been opened for four years and took off almost overnight. Bella's talents as a chef was nearly legend within the first month the restaurant had opened and it has all been uphill from that point onwards.

But, part of the problems at home was the fact that Bella's husband thought he should be able to have control over Bella's share of the business and the profits from the restaurant, but, she refused to allow that. She allowed Jasper to invest it for her and to manage the profits.

Frank Harrison was of an opinion that a woman had an obligation to take care of her man and home first before anything else. Also, that man was better able to deal with business than woman. Bella told him the first time he had mentioned that opinion after they were married that he was out of his mind while making the mistake of laughing about his opinion. That was the first time he had struck her, but, not the last.

When Bella threatened to leave and file for divorce due to physical abuse, he just looked at her like she had grown two heads or lost her mind. Then he laughed at her before telling her that if she made any such move she would have to live with the fact that her parents would no longer be walking this earthly plane. And just to prove that he would do so he picked up the phone while standing in front of her to speak with an individual about causing an accident that would put her mother in the hospital. Four hours later at work Bella received a call from her dad telling her that her mother was in the hospital due to a hit and run. That was all it took to stay Bella's hand about leaving.

Bella and her mom, Renee, were close even though Renee had left and divorced Charlie, Bella's dad, years ago when Bella was only seven. They felt it was better to be friends than a couple. Bella knew they still loved one another, but, had been unable to coexist together as each had different ideas of how they wanted their life to be. So, instead of making everyone miserable they separated, divorced, remaining loving friends while living life in a manner that suited each.

Charlie was responsible, steadfast, quiet, alert and always the rock foundation. Renee was the easy going, carefree spirit of the moment and never able to stay with anything long enough to see it through. They both fell in love in college, married and Bella was born a year later. While trying to make things work each knew something was always lacking as they knew they weren't giving the other their all, except, when it came to their daughter. Bella was the glue that held things together for as long as it did, but, as she got older the problems with the couple and the total lack of togetherness became blaringly clear to the child. That was when Charlie and Renee decided it was better to part ways with Bella remaining with Charlie for a more stable life. So, a quiet divorce was done, each still loving the other, but, knowing life and their relationship would be better as friends, not as lovers.

From time to time Bella had tried to think of a way out of the mess that her marriage was, but, the fear of something happening to one or both of her parents always flashed through her mind as quickly as the thought of leaving did. It was what had happened to her mother that would be the deciding factor each time that she ended up staying and taking the abuse that Frank handed out on a regular basis.

Bella's place of refuge was ISABELLA, her beloved restaurant. She was able to truly let go and be her own creative self. No one standing over her telling her what to do, how to do and then telling her how stupid she was or behaved because it was never right. Everything she created in her kitchen at ISABELLA was right and enjoyed by all that came to the restaurant. She knew this because of the raves she received from the critics and from the customers. But, each night that she had to leave and go home she fell back into the submissive nothing that existed without light and joy; Frank, or, the thought of Frank and going home to him took that away before every arriving at the house they shared.

XXXXXXX

She no sooner arrived home, walked through the door closing it behind her and turned around than she was met with a fist to the jaw. This was delivered by an enraged Frank as he continued to beat upon her while spewing obscenities about he had told her not to go around looking or acting like a slut. But, she had ignored what he had instructed and did as she damn well pleased.

"I'm the master in my own home and you will learn to do as I tell you, bitch. And, this time I'll make sure it's beaten into you permanently. In fact, I'll make sure that no one, and, I mean no one, will ever want to see you or your face and body again." With that said Frank walked towards the kitchen. Bella wasn't sure what he was planning to do, but, she didn't waste any time to painfully run upstairs to their bedroom and lock the door.

Of course, Frank followed her and kicked the door in when he found it locked. In fact, he was so pissed off that she had dared to run from him in the first place instead of staying and taking her punishment as she deserved.

Bella saw the knife in his hand and realized what he was planning to do to her. So, she tried to reason with him, "Frank, you really don't want to do what you're planning. What would the neighbors think if they saw cuts on me? There's no way I can come up with the necessary excuses to keep them from knowing about the abuse." But, the more she talked and what she was saying was making him angrier by the moment.

He kept swinging the knife back and forth as he advanced towards her. Bella was being backed up against the wall and her avenues of escape were steadily being cut off. In a quick movement that wasn't expected Bella reached under the pillow as she realized in a moment of clarity that she was on Frank's side of the bed and pulled out the loaded gun he kept there.

As Frank realized what she was doing he made a leap for her and the knife buried itself deep into Bella's side. As he pulled it out and was making a swipe for her face Bella, still having a hold of the gun, fired and the bullet hit him in the throat.

Quickly pushing his convulsing body off of her she dropped the gun and ran to the phone dialing the one person that was always the truly trusted rock of her life.

**A/N: Who is the true rock of Bella's life? What's going to happen to Bella now? **

**Thanks for reading the new story and hope you will enjoy it. Your reviews, ideas and comments are always welcomed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**STRUGGLES**

**Disclaimer: The Cullens, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

**The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them. She also makes the banners for each of my stories.**

_As Frank realized what she was doing he made a leap for her and the knife buried itself deep into Bella's side. As he pulled it out and was making a swipe for her face Bella, still having a hold of the gun, fired and the bullet hit him in the throat. _

_Quickly pushing his convulsing body off of her she dropped the gun and ran to the phone dialing the one person that was always the truly trusted rock of her life._

CHAPTER 2: PROBLEMS?

"Help!" Was all Bella was able to manage before passing out due to the loss of blood from her stab wound. She was still unconscious when sirens could be heard from a distance, but, getting closer by the minute to stop in front of her home. The EMT's and police pounded and then burst through the front door when no answer was received after repeated tries.

They quickly combed through the downstairs and then the upstairs to find two persons badly injured in the master bedroom upstairs. The scene that greeted them seemed to speak for itself or so they thought at the time. Bella was at the foot of the bed with a cell phone in her hand where she had made the call for help with a stab wound, but, Frank was on one side of the bed with a wound to the throat. The gun was laying off to one side while a kitchen knife was still clutched in his hand.

Frank was declared dead at the scene due to no pulse was found and he seemed to have bled out in a matter of moments as the shot had severed his jugular vein. But, Bella, though the stab wound was deep and still bleeding, was clinging to life, although, barely. With her wound she had almost bled out as had the man.

The police quickly surveyed the crime scene and made certain deductions as to what had occurred while the medical team took care of the living and the coroner's office took care of the dead. Both the gun and the knife had been bagged as evidence, photos were taken of the entire scene before either man or woman could be removed, surfaces dusted for fingerprints, windows and doors checked for any forced entry, even though, everything suggested a domestic dispute, they had to make sure of their case and finally neighbors were questioned as to what they might know or had heard of the incident.

It was at the moment that Bella was being wheeled out to the ambulance that Jasper arrived in a frantic state of worry due to the phone call he had received. Bella had managed to call her dad, but, he was too far away to be able to come to her aid immediately, however, he had called one of his friends on the Seattle Police force to alert him to a problem at his daughter's home.

Once that alert had been taken care of Charlie had been questioned by his friend as to what he believed could have led to the possible current situation. It was then that Chief Swan's suspicions as to what he believed was happening between his daughter and her husband was reported. And, while this discussion was taking place help was on the way to Bella's while Charlie was heading out to his car while still on the phone with his friend to start his journey to Seattle from Forks, Washington; a trip that was between three to four hours long depending on the speed it was driven.

Charlie having knowledge of how a domestic violence dispute could go knew before he left Forks a necessary stop was in order. He had to make sure that his daughter was protected in any eventuality, so, he went to his old friend's home. He noticed no lights on as he approached the home and knew he should have called before arriving, but, with all that was happening in Seattle he just didn't think about it. So, he quickly got out of the cruiser and walked up the steps of the wide porch that covered the entire front of the three story, full windowed home of his friend and began pounded on the front door. He needed to talk with Carlisle quickly so he could get on the road to his Bella and he wouldn't be stopping to have this discussion if not for the fact that it was extremely important for Bella's benefit.

While all of these thoughts and a great many others were passing swiftly through Charlie's mind of what all he needed to do to insure that Bella was going to be safe, he was unaware of the front door being answered by a very dishevelish looking individual with sleep weary eyes and hair sticking up all over his head. It was as a disgruntle voice spoke that Charlie quickly snapped his attention back to where he was and why he was there.

"What the hell, Charlie, do you realize the time?" Carlisle grumbled, but, still opened the front door wider while stepping to one side to invited his friend in.

"Carlisle, rest assured that I wouldn't be up and disturbing you or anyone else at this time of the night if it wasn't absolutely necessary." But, before either man could say or question the other further a quickly indrawn breath could their attention and jerked their heads towards the woman that was just coming down the staircase.

"Charlie, has something happened to one of our children? Are you here because something's wrong with them and -"

"Slow down, Esme, it isn't about your kids that I'm here; it's about my child."

"What? How does this visit concern Bella and what can we do to help?" Was the immediate response from both Carlisle and Esme.

It was then that Charlie asked, "Do you remember my mentioning what I suspected was happening to Bella? And that it was my belief that her husband was abusing her?" And, Charlie paused before continuing, but, both his friend and his wife nodded yes to his questions. "Well, I think that Bella has been on the receiving end again tonight and has been seriously injured. I'm not sure of the circumstances as yet, but, I received a distress call from her that only said help just before I heard something heavy fall and nothing else was said on the phone.

"A few several attempts to get her to answer I hung up and called an associate of mine that's on the SPD and told him of my suspicions and he immediately dispatched a unit out to check on things. I haven't heard back from him as yet as to what was found, but, that's not important at this moment as I'm heading to Seattle once I've finished talking with you.

"I did call Jasper to alert him as to what could be happening and he quickly assured me that he would get over there as soon as he got dressed."

"But, Charlie, that doesn't tell us how we can help. Do you want me to come with you to check Bella over and act as he personal doctor?" Carlisle asked as both he and Esme were puzzled as to what their friend did want of them.

Charlie closed his eyes as he felt a coldness creep into his heart, a coldness that was nothing more than sheer fear of what might have happened to Bella to force her to call him with her one word request. With great effort Charlie got himself back under control before continuing, "That would be great if you could do that once I've found out more of what has happened, but, at the moment I'm here for a different reason.

"Your son, Edward, is coming home for some much needed family time from Chicago and you know as well as I do, Carlisle, how things can and do go in regards to domestic violent cases." At which Carlisle nodded as his friend continued once more, "So, I would like for you to get a hold of Edward and arrange for him to represent my Bella if the need should arise." It was then that both Carlisle and Esme became aware of what Charlie's worst fears might be.

There wasn't anything else that needed to be said as Carlisle quickly told Charlie not to worry, "Bella will have the best attorney possible with Edward representing her for whatever purpose he's needed. I'll make the call to him to bring him out here ahead of time so he can be here by tomorrow night. Go to Bella and we'll handle things from this end and then I'll be on my way as well. Just let me know where to meet you." Carlisle told his friend.

After everyone parted and not wanting to waste time Charlie was in his cruiser once more and had the siren blaring while he tore up the highway heading to his beloved daughter's side. Although, Charlie Swan, Chief of Police in Forks, disapproved of people breaking the law by speeding as that could lead to more serious results this was the one time he wasn't even considering the situation as he had the pedal to the metal and was flying low, as the sayings go, all the way to Seattle to be with Bella.

XXXXXX

Jasper was trying to get his questions answered, or, at least, to be directed to the person in charge so he could get some answers as to what had happened, but, everyone kept telling him to stay out of the way. It was then after it happened for the third time and still no one taking the time to talk with him, only assuming that he was a bystander, that he lost his cool. "I'm here to find out what has happened to my cousin." He yelled to no one in particular at the top of his voice.

His shout got the attention of everyone, but, did get the desired results as Det. Asher finished his conversation with the coroner and made his way over to Jasper. As he approached he held out his hand towards Jasper and introduced himself, Det. Jonathan Asher, and asked Jasper to identify himself to which Jasper did and the two men shook hands. He explained who he was, how he was related to Bella and that he rushed over after received a call from her father.

"Well, Mr. Whitlock, there isn't much that I can tell you at the moment, but, you might want to go to Mercy General to be with your cousin as she's in a bad stage. Also, you might want to alert her attorney as well as it's very possible that she's going to need him in the near future."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sorry, but, at the moment I'm not at liberty to voice any opinion, but, I can give you the advice about the attorney. It might not be necessary, but, it's always good to be prepared just in case, if you know what I mean." With that said Jasper started to turn away so he could go on to the hospital to check on Bella. But, at the last moment Det. Asher asked, "Do you happen to know if Mr. Harvey had any living relatives so we can notify them of his death?" Jasper just stood looking at the detective as if he had two heads before answering and telling him about Frank having a sister.

He walked over to the book laying close to the phone and opened the book to the information the detective had asked for to show him the necessary information. With that done Jasper walked out the front door, going straight to his car so he can go on to the hospital. He knew that he needed to call Charlie, but, he thought he might need to wait until he could more information about Bella's condition. To say that he was scared for his cousin would be an understatement after the way Det. Asher had said that her attorney needed to be contacted.

'Attorney? What kind of attorney? Why would the detective advise getting an attorney?" Question after question kept running through his mind as he drove to the hospital.

**A/N: Whoa! Bella needing an attorney? Why? After all it was self-defense and the evidence points to that, right? Is Charlie making the right decisions due to his experience? Has Det. Asher given good advice to Jasper? **

**Thanks for reading the new story and hope you will enjoy it. Your reviews, ideas and comments are always welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**STRUGGLES**

**Disclaimer: The Cullens, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

**The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them. She also makes the banners for each of my stories.**

_He walked over to the book laying close to the phone and opened the book to the information the detective had asked for to show him the necessary information. With that done Jasper walked out the front door, going straight to his car so he can go on to the hospital. He knew that he needed to call Charlie, but, he thought he might need to wait until he could more information about Bella's condition. To say that he was scared for his cousin would be an understatement after the way Det. Asher had said that her attorney needed to be contacted._

'_Attorney? What kind of attorney? Why would the detective advise getting an attorney?" Question after question kept running through his mind as he drove to the hospital._

CHAPTER 3: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

"—llo?" A sleepy voice answered the phone just to stop the damn ass constant ringing.

"Edward."

"Huh?"

"Edward Anthony Cullen, wake your ass up and listen to me."

That tone of voice snapped the man that had been awakened from a peaceful sleep by the ringing of the phone into a full awareness. "Shit, Dad, what's wrong? Something happen to Mom? I'll get a hold of Alice and we'll be on our way immediately. What did happen to Mom?" Edward kept rambling on without stop so Carlisle just let him until he had to stop to draw a breath.

"Edward, I didn't say that anything was wrong with your mother and no you don't need to get a hold of Alice to upset her over nothing. However, I do need for you to get on the first flight that you can and get out here."

With puzzlement sound in his voice, Edward starts to ask Carlisle what was going on, "Dad, what's happened that you need me out there before time?"

"Do you remember Charlie Swan?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of yours and Mom's, but, is also the Chief of Police in Forks. Why?"

"Do you remember his daughter, Bella?"

"Barely. I believe she started high school as I was a senior, so, she wasn't ever of our group, but, her cousin Jasper was a friend."

"Yes, well, she is going to need your professional help in the near future if things go the way her father and I believe it will. I promised Charlie, when he asked me to ask you for help for her, that you would be here to represent her and help in whatever way you could. So, get up, get ready and get on the first flight that you can and I'll meet you at the airport since I'm getting ready to head to Seattle myself to help the young woman."

"But, Dad,-"

"Don't, Edward. I very seldom as for your help, but, now it is important to a lot of people. People that you mother and I care about."

"Okay, Dad. I need to handle a few things at the office before I can leave since it's before time, but, I'll be there by tomorrow evening. I'll call you to let you know the time I'll be arriving in Seattle."

"Thanks, son, I knew I could count on you."

"One more thing before you hang up; Dad, can you give me some kind of idea what might be on the horizon in regards to Bella Swan?"

"Edward, I don't have anything definite to support what Charlie and I suspect has been happening to Bella, but, we believe that she had been abused for a period of time by her husband. But, for some reason something devastating happened tonight that has us on the way to Seattle to help her. That is the extent of my knowledge until I hear more from Charlie.

"With him being a police officer and I being a doctor we have seen how domestic violence cases have gone in the past and most of the time it doesn't go well for the woman. So, Charlie asked for me to ask you to be prepared to represent his daughter to protect her interests and in any other way that might arise. He's wanting to be prepared ahead of time with the best attorney we know and that's you."

"Domestic violence, huh? Okay, I'll be there as quickly as I can. Tell her and Chief Swan to speak with no one until I can be present. Not one word, Dad, is to be volunteered until I can be with her.

"Also, when I call back to give you my flight information you might be able to fill me in more fully as to what happened and what is the condition of things at that moment."

As phone call between father and son finished Carlisle quickly got dressed while Esme was busy in the kitchen getting something fixed so he could eat a bite before getting on the road towards Seattle. She knew that her husband wasn't going to wait to hear from Charlie, but, would be on the road while waiting for more information as to where to meet.

She wanted to go as well, but, didn't have the time to get everything in order for any extended stay in Seattle at such short notice, so, she would be following in a few hours' time. And, she also knew that Carlisle needed to let the hospital know that he was going to be out of town for several days before he got on the road for Seattle.

Time passed and Carlisle was ready to leave with the understanding that Esme wouldn't be far behind. He still hadn't heard anything from Charlie, but, that didn't concern him very much as he knew that his friend still had a ways to drive before getting into Seattle. However, it didn't stop him from wondering if he had heard anything from his nephew as to what Bella's condition or circumstances might be at the moment.

About halfway to Seattle Carlisle was concerned because he still hadn't heard a word from Charlie. He was afraid that things might be worse than first thought with Bella which made him anxious to floor the pedal and act like a speed demon to get to his friend and his family in Seattle. And, the closer he got with no word the more worried he became as he still didn't know where to go.

Finally as he was nearing the outer limits of Seattle Carlisle's phone started ringing and he answered without hesitation. "Charlie, what's going on?" And, with that one question he listened as his friend described what was known at the moment and the condition that Bella was in at Mercy Hospital.

He heard the sorrowful catch in Charlie's voice as his friend told him that his baby girl might not make it through the night. "Hold on, Charlie. I'll be there very shortly as I'm just now hitting the city limits of Seattle. I did get a hold of Edward and he'll be here tomorrow night.

"And, Charlie, Edward said to tell all of you not to answer any questions until he could be there with you. He was very definite about that fact."

XXXXXXX

Charlie still hadn't heard anything from Jasper as he was nearing the Seattle city limits, so, he decided to try to get a hold of him to see what was happening and where Bella was. Charlie was getting very impatient about the silence that seem to be surrounding what was happening to his baby girl and he had expected to hear something from someone before now. It didn't take long before Jasper answered the phone and Charlie demanded to know what was wrong and where his daughter was.

"Uncle Charlie, I don't know much at the moment except for the fact that Frank is dead and Bella is at Mercy Hospital in critical condition; they have her in surgery right and then she will be going into ICU. Frank had been shot and declared dead at the scene. Bella had been stabbed and was in bad shape. It seems that Frank bled out at the house and due to her wound Bella had almost done the same before help arrived."

"Oh, my God!" Charlie exclaimed with great agony. "What has that man done to my little girl? How could I have been so blind as to not see and do something about it before she ended up in this shape?" Charlie wailed and felt the acute pain deep within his chest because of his guilt for not protecting her better when he had the chance. "Jasper, why didn't she do something about the abuse? Why didn't she trust us enough to allow us to know and to help her before now?

"We all suspected it, but, didn't do anything. We buried our heads in the sand and made believe that all was well because she never confirmed any of it. And, any time we asked her about the bruises or the problems, even, asking if she was being abused by him she passed it of as if it was her clumsiness. Why?"

"Uncle Charlie, I can't answer that question. I don't even know how she put up with it. The only thing she ever mentioned to me about any problems was quite a ways back when Frank was wanting to have say and control of her profit shares and investments and she refused to allow him access. She told him that she was quite happy with the way I was handling things and that the arrangements would remain the way she had them setup.

"Of course, he was pissed, but, said nothing in front of me and after he left she told me to never allow him any say into her affairs. And, that was the only time I knew for sure that one sort of problem did exist, but, I thought since nothing else was ever said that it had smoothed over.

"But, come to think back she did arrive at work the next day moving a bit slowly. When I asked about she passed it off as she fell due to her clumsiness and I didn't push any further. So, Uncle Charlie, I'm just as guilty for not checking further into the situation and so is everyone else that is in her group of friends.

"No one, not a single one of us, called her on the excuses she handed out to us all of the time; we just allowed her to get away with continuing to hand them and we all acted like she was telling us the truth." Jasper concluded and then asked how much longer before Charlie would be arriving.

"I'm almost there now, but, I need to get more information about Bella before calling Carlisle Cullen. He's coming up to act as her personal doctor."

"Oh, that reminds me that the Officer in charge at the scene did advise for me to contact Bella's attorney. He wouldn't tell me any more than that, but, did say that from the look of things it couldn't hurt. Why would he even say anything like that?"

"I've already taken care of an attorney for Bella. I asked Carlisle to get a hold of his son, Edward, since he is a very successful attorney in Chicago and he is concerned one of the best in the country by his peers so I'm informed. I'm waiting to hear about that as well, so, don't be concerned. It's best in cases of this sort since the woman ends up with some legal matters being attached to her, especially, where there is further violence than just the abuse." Charlie explained.

There wasn't much more for the two men to discuss so the call was finished and Charlie continued towards the hospital and hoping for further news concerning his daughter. He wasn't worried about calling Carlisle just yet since he didn't really have any medical news to report concerning Bella's conditions. That he would receive once he got to the hospital and could speak one on one with the doctor. But, that plan was interrupted by a call from his friend asking for an update and a location of where Charlie was.

During the call Charlie wasn't able to give much information to Carlisle as he hadn't really had the time to ask questions of either the police or the doctors attending Bella at the moment. Carlisle confirmed that he was just at the city limits of Seattle and would be arriving at the hospital very shortly and the fact that he had spoken with Edward. He relayed the message of what Edward had instructed and the fact that his son would be arriving the following evening.

Charlie thanked him for all of his help and told him that he'd be glad to see him shortly. He believed that Carlisle would be better able to get more accurate information about Bella's condition while he would be able to focus on getting the necessary information from his friend on the SPD. All of that would be needed to decide the correct course of action that would need to be taken on his daughter's behalf.

Little did anyone realize that they were in the calm before the breaking of hell washing over them very, very shortly.

**A/N: Everyone on the way and arriving at the hospital where Bella had been taken. Edward has been contacted and is making arrangements to arrive in Seattle to help Bella. Esme is getting ready to head to Seattle to be there for everyone. What will the doctors tell Carlisle and then Charlie about Bella's condition? What will the police tell Charlie about the circumstances of what will be coming at them?**

**Thanks for reading the new story and hope you will enjoy it. Your reviews, ideas and comments are always welcomed.**


End file.
